Publications
Partners
This Sunday will see the 88th rendition of America’s second oldest motor race and the world’s greatest hillclimb, the Pikes Peak "race to the clouds".
The legendary race follows a delicate strip of dirt (predominantly) and asphalt for 20km, navigating 156 corners and climbing nearly 1.5km to a finish line at 4.3km above sea level. Drop-offs along the route are suicidal and the altitude saps power alarmingly.
Despite its forbidding nature and awesome setting, only a hardcore bunch of (primarily) amateur enthusiasts congregate at the bottom of Pikes each year to race.
Colorado residents make up the bulk of competitors, with the odd New Zealander or Oriental entrant adding some international representation.
There are 11 classes to compete in (ranging from vintage cars to bikes) with the open-wheel and unlimited categories netting the fastest times.
In a world littered with safety-obsessed circuits that major on boredom and feature starting grids comprising well moneyed brats masquerading as racing drivers, Pikes Peak is a refreshing throwback to reckless amateurism.
American race, Japanese legend
Since the halcyon post-Group B rally era of the late 1980s, when driving gods Walter Röhrl (Audi S1) and Ari Vatanen (Peugeot 405 T16) duelled with death as they attempted to best each other on the timesheets, participation by international drivers and works teams have been haphazard.
Marcus Grönholm and Andreas Eriksson raced suitably modified Ford Fiesta rallycross cars (rated at 588kW) last year, yet Ford is absent in 2010 – ostensibly preparing for an all-out assault next year...
Current record holder and Pikes veteran, Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima, has clocked a personal best of 10:1.41 seconds on the course in a very trick Suzuki back in 2008, besting Rod Millen’s record which stood from 1994-2007. Tajima’s 2010 entry is a Suzuki powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.1l V6 worth 700kW and 1 023Nm of peak rotational force, all in a car weighing only 1 109kg.
Tajima’s most fearsome competitor is Rhys Millen, Rod’s son. After Tajima bested Rod's record in 2008, Rhys promised to get the family name restored in honour.
Last year Rhys, who is well known in drift circles (excuse the pun), drove brilliantly in a two-wheel drive Hyundai Genesis coupe at Pikes, only to be denied by a puncture towards the end of his timed run. This year he will run a specially prepared all-wheel drive Hyundai RM580 featuring spaceframe construction housing a 550kW 3.8 turbocharged V6 engine. Millen's car has active aerodynamics too, a key dynamic feature as the course demands lots of downforce in the right corners and low drag on the straight bits.
The only other driver who could possibly break the 10-minute barrier is the third unlimited class competitor, local hero Paul Dallenbach, who’ll race his Chev-powered rear-wheel drive special against the works efforts of Tajima and Millen. Practice runs through Friday with the event set to start at 9am on Sunday.
The last proper race to the clouds?
This year’s event is tinged with a sense of sadness though. After Spencer Penrose finished converting the narrow carriageway into the current Pikes Peak highway in 1915, the US government considered the civil engineering project done and dusted. Lately though, the Sierra Group has been lobbying the US Federal Government to tar the entire road, which would effectively change the rallycross nature of the race.
In fact, there are many who believe that finishing the entire route in asphalt would make it too popular for general use, leading to a state of affairs where staging a race over a weekend on a tarred national highway would be quickly stymied by bureaucracy.
It’s quite fitting then, that this year’s Pikes Peak event (possibly the last race to be held on the forbidding, predominantly gravel surface) could finally see a driver achieving the Holy Grail, recording a time under 10 minutes.
Is this the year somebody dips under the magical 10 minute barrier at Pikes Peak? Share your prediction here...
The legendary race follows a delicate strip of dirt (predominantly) and asphalt for 20km, navigating 156 corners and climbing nearly 1.5km to a finish line at 4.3km above sea level. Drop-offs along the route are suicidal and the altitude saps power alarmingly.
Despite its forbidding nature and awesome setting, only a hardcore bunch of (primarily) amateur enthusiasts congregate at the bottom of Pikes each year to race.
Colorado residents make up the bulk of competitors, with the odd New Zealander or Oriental entrant adding some international representation.
There are 11 classes to compete in (ranging from vintage cars to bikes) with the open-wheel and unlimited categories netting the fastest times.
In a world littered with safety-obsessed circuits that major on boredom and feature starting grids comprising well moneyed brats masquerading as racing drivers, Pikes Peak is a refreshing throwback to reckless amateurism.
American race, Japanese legend
Since the halcyon post-Group B rally era of the late 1980s, when driving gods Walter Röhrl (Audi S1) and Ari Vatanen (Peugeot 405 T16) duelled with death as they attempted to best each other on the timesheets, participation by international drivers and works teams have been haphazard.
Marcus Grönholm and Andreas Eriksson raced suitably modified Ford Fiesta rallycross cars (rated at 588kW) last year, yet Ford is absent in 2010 – ostensibly preparing for an all-out assault next year...
Current record holder and Pikes veteran, Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima, has clocked a personal best of 10:1.41 seconds on the course in a very trick Suzuki back in 2008, besting Rod Millen’s record which stood from 1994-2007. Tajima’s 2010 entry is a Suzuki powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.1l V6 worth 700kW and 1 023Nm of peak rotational force, all in a car weighing only 1 109kg.
Tajima’s most fearsome competitor is Rhys Millen, Rod’s son. After Tajima bested Rod's record in 2008, Rhys promised to get the family name restored in honour.
Last year Rhys, who is well known in drift circles (excuse the pun), drove brilliantly in a two-wheel drive Hyundai Genesis coupe at Pikes, only to be denied by a puncture towards the end of his timed run. This year he will run a specially prepared all-wheel drive Hyundai RM580 featuring spaceframe construction housing a 550kW 3.8 turbocharged V6 engine. Millen's car has active aerodynamics too, a key dynamic feature as the course demands lots of downforce in the right corners and low drag on the straight bits.
The only other driver who could possibly break the 10-minute barrier is the third unlimited class competitor, local hero Paul Dallenbach, who’ll race his Chev-powered rear-wheel drive special against the works efforts of Tajima and Millen. Practice runs through Friday with the event set to start at 9am on Sunday.
The last proper race to the clouds?
This year’s event is tinged with a sense of sadness though. After Spencer Penrose finished converting the narrow carriageway into the current Pikes Peak highway in 1915, the US government considered the civil engineering project done and dusted. Lately though, the Sierra Group has been lobbying the US Federal Government to tar the entire road, which would effectively change the rallycross nature of the race.
In fact, there are many who believe that finishing the entire route in asphalt would make it too popular for general use, leading to a state of affairs where staging a race over a weekend on a tarred national highway would be quickly stymied by bureaucracy.
It’s quite fitting then, that this year’s Pikes Peak event (possibly the last race to be held on the forbidding, predominantly gravel surface) could finally see a driver achieving the Holy Grail, recording a time under 10 minutes.
Is this the year somebody dips under the magical 10 minute barrier at Pikes Peak? Share your prediction here...